Losing to inferior teams?

As much as people here hate Vick and as much as Vick has a lot of errant throws; Vick is a veteran NFL QB with a lifetime record of 61-51.

That is a lot of experience and he was a decent backup QB for a 1 year rental.

Landry Jones getting the win in AZ was a team effort all the way.

Still... the Ravens have had way more injury trouble than the Steelers and you're comparing apples to oranges.

Yep. Ben misses games almost every year. Tomlin's response to keep Ben healthy? Have him throw 55 times against Seattle and Denver. It's amazing Ben has held up this well this season.

 

There are a lot of "Tomlinisms" that have gotten under my skin over the years but probably the one that did it the most was when he said that we were gonna "protect Ben with weapons". Yeah. Because d linemen will refuse to rush the qb so they can all go chasing after a wideout... This was said during the BA years when Ben was getting pretty much totaled week in and week out. But yeah. Mike Wallace will totally make Ben not get sacked anymore.

 

Oh I thought it was Jake from State Farm

 

When I think of Tomlin and inferior teams I first think about losses to really bad Raiders teams.

when I think of Cowher I think of games in hand by halftime, that is ... Until the playoffs.

 

Yeah I remember the "weapons" quote after the 2008 draft. Tomlin was questioned about not drafting linemen in 07 or 08 to replace Hartings, Faneca and Smith.

Took Mendenhall and Sweed 1, 2.

I think that quote underlines an apathy towards "in the trenches" play.

That quote really has stood out to me as well as a major philosophical change from
the old guard.

 

And you wonder why the Pats are always in the playoffs, they beat teams their suppose to.

 

Ouch!......but it's true. I hate trying to compare us to them but their consistency makes me jealous. Although I despise them ,so i hate giving them any credit but there's no reason we couldn't or shouldn't be on that same level of play. There's no way you could convince me they have more talent than us....it's just that they know how to maximize it. They very rarely beat themselves and we have made quite a habit out of it.

 

The Pats get players to fit their scheme and do it well. It would just be nice if they could hold up a record untarnished by allegations for once.

 

True and true but I would be lying if I didn't admit that I'd still be basking in the glory if it was us ,especially since the NFL hasn't and won't do a damn thing about it.....

 

Thats because Belichick is the best talent evaluator and motivator in the NFL, he had a rash of injuries on his team this year, and he just plugged in players on offense and defense and won 12 games, he drafts well and doesnt hesitate to start rookies who play like veterans for him, he had a rookie DB win the superbowl for him last year, it's no coincidence he has 6 rings, he won two rings as a defensive cordinator with the giants, he is a football genius who isnt going to lose many games, the cheating asside, he is the best coach in the league and thats why other fans hate him, the steelers would have already been a 1 or 2 seed this year if he was the coach, and you all know it...........

 

I think you need to take those stats a step further. Compare Tomlin's first 4 years to his last 4 years. When Tomlin took over he inherited a different group of coaches and players. That team was clearly better then what we've seen in the last 5 seasons. There was no new offense or defense to install. I don't care if you say that was Cowher's team or not... facts are facts the coaching staff was in place when Tomlin came to town and we won a SB. We've not won a playoff game in 5 years with a franchise QB running the team. If you look at those past 5 seasons they are littered with horrible losses to horrible teams. Most, IF NOT ALL, 5 of those seasons should have ended in the playoffs or SB if you just took away the horrible upsets against bad teams. These facts make the argument MUCH different then the Kordell years. Back then we knew why we couldn't win in the playoffs...the QB!

Ben has been in his prime. He's playing the position better then he ever has. He's not perfect but he's among the best in the league. Comparing Ben's teams to past teams IMO isn't fair because we have not had a good QB since Bradshaw. Today's NFL is all about the passing game. I'd wish I wasn't beating a dead horse about this but the damn horse keeps getting up. Why aren't you comparing Steve Young's 49ers to today's 49ers? How about Dan Marino's dolphins vs today? You could go on and on. so lets put this ridiculous argument to bed ... Tomlin is no were near the coach Bill Cowher was. Blame who ever you want about bad losses..it's still his team.

 

I really don't see the point in comparing Cowher to Tomlin. So based on the article most agree losing to inferior teams falls on coaching. Who's the coach right now? Tomlin. So he should be on the hot seat and getting criticism.


Also, the Rooneys and their parity. It's a stretch but sometimes I feel like they purposely lose games to these crappy teams.

 

Well, they were supposed to beat the Jets

 

Tackies

 

Well, it just goes to show you can find exceptions to supposed 'rules.' Kicking in overtime after you just scored to tie the game was an enormously stupid thing to do if you were really trying to win the game (only other exception I remember was a Steelers game from the 80's where the Steelers offense was SO bad, the opposing team felt compelled to kick in overtime because statistically it actually INCREASED their chances of winning....which they did). If you had no more faith in your offense than that going to overtime, why didn't you go for 2 when you scored?

On the flip side, as bad as Tomlin has been at game/clock management, I've seen more GOOD decisions this year than in other years, so he doesn't ALWAYS do the wrong thing, but the wrong thing happens enough that it's difficult to erase the bad memories.

What makes the losses to losing teams more difficult to stomach is that the Steelers 'always' (meaning sometimes) seem to be the statistical aberration that allows teams to do what they have difficulty doing against OTHER teams. What was it with the Ravens? Something about never scoring on their opening possessions and being last in interceptions or something? We game plan in a way that doesn't seem to take advantage of our statistical strengths and our opponents' weaknesses (not all the time, but whenever we get involved in one of these close games against teams we should be blowing out on paper, the statistics never seem to match the teams' realities against other teams in the same season -- then, the following week, all of a sudden normalcy is restored).

Obviously not a statistical analysis, but the way I've felt when I've seen bad loss after bad loss.....We'll see what happens to the Ravens THIS week.....

 

Bellicheat opted to kick in that game against the Jets to knock us out of the playoffs. If that game was in the playoffs you think he opts to kick it? No way he does and no one will convince me otherwise. I'm sure there's a history of the patriots in OT that supports my opinion.

The patriots knew they would all but eliminate the steelers if the jets win.

The Patriots knew they had the Dolphins this week and unlike the Steelers, they don't lose to bad teams. So a loss does nothing to hurt them. They'll get a bye either way.

The patriots know they can beat the Jets if they were to meet up in the playoffs..and they'd much rather get the jets then the steelers.

With the steelers most likely out of the playoffs the only team that stands in their way is the Chiefs. The Broncos and Bengals are frauds.

 

I find it hard to believe that the Pats didn't want to lock up home field advantage

 

Dude it's not even worth dignifying with a comment. To suggest that a team lost on purpose when they have the greatest qb in the world and they are trying to AVOID playing the 31st ranked defense WHEN THE 31ST RANKED DEFENSE HAS NEVER EVEN BEEN TO A SUPER BOWL is just beyond dumb. If the pats were "trying" to lose then why would the game have even went to overtime in the first place? If the pats were "trying" to lose then why did they keep Brady on the field and risk him getting injured if they were throwing the game anyway? Sigh....... the internet is a magical place... Good grief.

 

EXACTLY! And here's an even CRAZIER scenario for the grassy knoll enthusiasts among us. Suppose we DO make the playoffs and it works out that we would have to play the pats in the AFC Championship game. So then do the pats LOSE their Divisional round JUST to "keep from playing the Steelers"??? OH THE INTRIGUE!!! There are some in internet land that will probably try and make that case too.

 

The interweb truly is magical. There are even some that believe that Brady is the greatest QB in the world! Takes all kinds! LOL

 

LOL!!! Maybe I should phrase it "best against THIS defense"?

 

Hell, I could be the best QB against THIS defense!
You can believe it 'cause it's on the internet!

 

There is certainly better observational and qualitative data than those stats that this team often does not play well against inferior opponents. This is a trend. No idea why, but it sure would be nice to reverse this. Sure once or twice a season, the stars align just right and a poor team gets on a roll against a better team. Undefeated only happened once. But, as many have pointed out, it is THE WAY we have lost those games - not being outplayed by a tam that got hot, but playing miserable and stoopid, collectively, not just the coaching.